Dr G’s Sneaker Laundry in Colchester has window smashed

Gareth Tansey, who set up Dr G’s Sneaker Laundry, or DGSL, in 2020, arrived to open his shop, only to find the damaged pane of glass.

CCTV footage shows a passing man lashing out at the window in a late-night act of mindless vandalism.

Gareth said the damage had left him feeling deflated.

Footage - CCTV captured the moment the glass was broken (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “You work so hard over the years to build up from your shed, to your garage, and to leave your full-time job to pursue this.

"When someone does this to something you are so passionate about, while you’re providing a service to the community, it feels like you’ve been kicked right in the teeth.

“I am a positive person. I restore handbags, shoes, boots, things like that, I think about the environment and I’m trying to encourage people not to live in a throw-away society.

“For someone to just walk past and smash a window like it’s nothing, it’s an awful feeling.”

The shop’s CCTV captured the act of vandalism, which took place at around 12.55am on Sunday, October 23.

Gareth hopes the police can identify the perpetrator.

“I am in contact with the police and I’m currently waiting to hear back from them,” he said.

“They said they would speak to Red Lion Walk, who’ve got CCTV, and Colchester Council, which has CCTV across the town.

“At the end of the day, the window is replaceable, but you worry about it happening to other small independent businesses nearby.

“We’ve got the excess to pay, premiums, there’ll be a lot to sort out.

“But the worst thing isn’t funding the repairs, it’s when I had my nine-year-old daughter with me and we walk across the road to the shop and she’s getting upset at the damage – she doesn’t understand why this sort of thing happens.”

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101.